Harpy Shrieker

The panicked man squeezed himself into the bombed out hollow of a gnarled tree. He was so frantic to find shelter, so terrified, that he barely even noticed the jagged splinters digging deep into his flesh. He tried to keep silent as possible, but each breath felt like a whirlwind of sound in so tiny a space. A meaty thud impacted just outside making the man’s heart skip two beats. Against his better judgment he slowly opened his eyes. They stung from the sweat and ashes. It was one of the security guards from the Keep. The ones the Fife lord boasted would keep them safe.

“Auuurrgh…” He cringed at the sound, the guard was still alive.

Both of the guard’s legs were shattered. Bright red fluid poured from his mouth choking out his attempts to cry for help. He was a goner for sure, he just didn't know it yet.

The dread quiet was shattered by a horrific shrieking sound, like nothing he’d heard before. It was like rusted nails scraping across a blackboard but mixed with a screeching wind one might hear if caught by a raging tornado. The ungodly sound tore at his ears, at his very mind. If it was the voice of a sentient being then surely it was as a creature filled with an intense hatred for all other life.

An emerald figure slammed onto a twisted burnt tree causing it to bow and splinter with the impact. It could barely support the weight of the awful yet somehow alluring creature. She unfurled her emerald wings overshadowing the dying man beneath her.

It was most defiantly a she. A creature with bronze skin built entirely out of claw bones, sinuous muscles, and immense emerald feathers. Her gigantic eyes were golden orbs that starred into the depths of one’s soul. Her body was covered in deep gauges that only served to accent the arcane body paint decorating her lithe form. If there was any meaning to be had by those twisted symbols surely it was that death was soon to follow.

A thin slit stretched across her face. Her lips peeled back to reveal a set of monstrous canines that easily put even the best of the forest’s wolves to shame. Was she smiling? The thought of it sent shivers up his spine.

She cocked her head to the side inspecting the wounded guard. Her neck twisted to an inhuman degree were her head was practically upside down. A gale of wind blasted through the grisly scene as the Harpy started flapping her winds menacingly. The man still wedged in the squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth terrified.

That horrendous shriek again! It scraped away at the edges of his sanity. A horrified whimpering was drowned out by what could only be described as the sound of several meat cleavers sinking deep into wet meat. Then after an explosive blast of wind, dead silence.

After what felt like hours the man gathered what little courage he had and slid out of his hiding spot. A pool of wet earth was all that remained. No body, and no monster. He took an uneasy breath of relief when suddenly a wicked shriek turned the man’s blood to ice! He didn't even have time to scream as a massive emerald form plucked him off the face of the earth.